And the RIBA winners are…

A plethora of design innovation commended in RIBA International and National Awards

The winners in the RIBA National and International Awards 2008 for architectural excellence have been unveiled. The chosen projects represent a healthy range of cultural, residential, commercial and infrastructural commendable projects.

Speaking at the awards dinner, RIBA President Sunand Prasad said: "RIBA Awards are only made to buildings that really work for their users. They are a studied response by architect and lay judges not only to the submitted material but most importantly to tours of buildings conducted by the clients and architects of the schemes."

Ouf of the 92 RIBA Regional Winners short listed in May, 16 were projects that were honoured with RIBA National awards. David Chipperfield Architects walked away with 2 awards in this category and his BBC Scotland project was praised by the judges for its ability to resolve the issue of turning something that is purely functional into something socially and sculpturally successful. Allford Hall Monaghan Morris were also awarded twice with their London based projects: housing scheme, Adelaide Wharf, and Westminster Academy.

The landmark slender profile of The Hilton Tower by Ian Simpson Architects with its 210 private apartments and 279 hotel rooms was also a winner.On a smaller but nonetheless captivating scale, one award went to a novel West Sussex landmark: the East Beach Café in Littlehampton by Heatherwick Studio. It was aptly described by the jury as a great hollow hulk of welded steel, an empty shell, a piece of enigmatic flotsam. The Sackler Crossing in Kew Garden designed by John Pawson was presented with an award for its sinuous serpentine across the water whose deck set at the minimum possible distance from the lake’s surface makes you feel as if you are walking on water. Another bridge was awarded, but this time in the RIBA International category where there were 10 winning projects. Wilkinson Eyre’s Living Bridge at the University of Limerick was commended for its response to a highly sensitive context. Zaha Hadid Architects won with the Nord Park Cable Railway in Austria for the great virtuosity achieved by the construction in its three dimensionally curved glass forms.

Danish practice Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitektfirma were conferred an award for The Royal Playhouse in Copenhagen: the jury appreciated the quality of the space as it speaks of a refined level of attention and care, and bears witness to the intense collaboration between architect and client in delivering an exemplary space for the spoken word.

This year’s RIBA’s Lubetkin Prize was awarded to a private house in Costa Rica known as Casa Kike by Gianni Botsford Architects.

Coin Street Community Builders has won this year's RIBA Client of the Year Award for their transformation of the South Bank by building a genuine community in London's cultural quarter.

The final shortlist for the £20,000 Stirling Prize will be drawn from the 16 RIBA National Award winners, and the RIBA European Award winners who are eligible for the prize. The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 17 July and the winner revealed on October 11 2008 at the 2008 RIBA Stirling Prize Dinner at the Arena and Convention Centre in Liverpool. This year’s judges will be Ben van Berkel from UNStudio Netherlands, Shelley Mc Namara from Grafton Architects in Dublin, Kieran Long, Architects Journal Editor and Lauren Laverne, Presenter of The Culture Show.